It’s time for Christmas bells, big furry coats, charity singles and talent contests. The Christmas number one spot has long been the goal of many a musician, and a great opportunity to unpack what takes the top spot in our own lives.
THE SESSION
Before the session, gather a selection of hit singles that have seized the Christmas top spot. Compilation albums already do this for you, or you may prefer to select some of your own favourites.
Play a selection of them, perhaps inviting different leaders to introduce their favourites to the group. Play a game of ‘spot the cliché’, challenging the group to see how many of the following (or others they can identify) can be found in each track:
- Recorded for charity
- Talent show winner
- Comeback single
- Jingle bells featured
- Full orchestra
- Various celebrities featured on the track
You could have a vote for the group’s favourite track and even for the worst Christmas number one ever (the classic Mr Blobby vs Cliff Richard debate).
Arrange your young people into smaller groups and provide a selection of costumes, musical instruments and props. Challenge them all to create their own ‘most clichéd’ Christmas song to perform back to the rest of the group. Allow plenty of time for them to create and rehearse their song. If you have more time available, you could challenge them to create a music video which you can record, ready to play back to the whole group.
Spend time enjoying the various performances and make it clear that this is just a bit of fun as, so often, is the fight for the Christmas top spot. Ask the group why they think this iconic status matters so much to musicians and the buying public. Why do we care who gets that much-coveted position?
Provide Bibles and ask someone to read John 1:1-18. Explain to the group that for us as Christians, Christmas begins with Jesus. This passage in John helps to draw out some important ideas about this. Firstly, that Jesus was there in the beginning - he has the ultimate top spot! But also, Jesus came into the world in such a quiet, unassuming way. The circumstances of his birth are undoubtedly unusual, but there were no great fanfares, no social media campaigns and no big publicity machine!
Challenge the group to consider how this contrasts with the singers we have looked at during this session. They arrive in a blaze of publicity and attention, but their fame lasts for a moment, whereas Jesus arrived in the quiet of night, yet people’s lives are still transformed by him today.
As you draw the session to a close, challenge your young people to take some time to consider what it would mean for them to put Jesus in the top spot, not just this Christmas, but in their whole lives.
